The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954)

After finishing The Hobbit (finally) I decided I’d have a crack at Lord of the Rings. Published nearly 20 years after The Hobbit, it’s fair to say the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy had developed the lore of Middle Earth a bit.

Reading far less like a kid’s book and instead focusing more on details and the slower paced adventure I was surprised how much I enjoyed The Fellowship of the Ring, at least by the end of it. Starting in a familiar environment at Bag end, the book follow’s Bilbo’s nephew Frodo and his journey to dispose of(?) the ring of power.

The first part of the book was essentially a long walk, with a group of Hobbits and friends wandering, fair to say, pretty aimlessness with the Ring. The second part of the book increased the stakes by building not only Ring lore, but by providing the group direction, with the group deciding to dispose of the Ring in the cracks of doom.

I enjoyed the immersive slow-paced journey and finding out about the lore of Middle Earth. The length of the book helped me internalise the many characters too, although this book was another lesson in the importance of active reading.

I’ve since bought the next two books. Looking forward to them, but taking a break for now.